Using Behavioural Science in Organisations

This third webinar in our series explores how internal narratives, staff participation, and resistance behaviours influence transformation within organisations. Organisations are a particular ‘system’ where behaviour change approaches can drive change. While it may be tempting to use organisational structures to implement change (such as leaders instructing their staff that they must change), this can lead to disgruntled employees and low job satisfaction. Taking a behavioural approach is an alternative and offers better outcomes. In this webinar, we consider key factors around change within organisations. Most importantly, understanding the external and internal contexts before stepping in, involving staff in the process, and understanding and embracing resistance as part of this. Behavioural approaches include encouraging and enabling participation, as well as observing and understanding resistance behaviours to help improve the process. Speakers in this webinar are: Michael Daddo: Michael, through The Shannon Company, will share how he creates internal narratives for organisational change by actively involving staff in the process. Through participatory behaviours, employees help shape the narrative, leading to greater ownership, stronger engagement and a more meaningful sense of cause and effect. Dr Denise Goodwin: Denise will be sharing insights from BHP’s top-down approach to change, driven by external pressure and gender quotas, and what behavioural observation revealed about the disconnect between rhetoric and staff experience. Dr Conor Wynn: Conor’s research highlights that resistance needn’t be viewed as an obstacle to overcome, but rather as a crucial factor in improving outcomes. It plays a vital role in challenging poor decisions, ultimately leading to better solutions. He will reflect on how a behavioural science lens helped to unpack resistance to new strategies at Melbourne Water, offering valuable lessons on navigating change within technically focused organisations. Whether you are driving organisational change or at the receiving end, this webinar has something for you. Join us to discover the powerful insights of behavioural science into how people think, act and adapt.